Dark heroes walk the streets of Earth-Omega. Most vampires are vile monsters, but some struggle to turning their evil gifts to good ends. For October, we’re going to have a look at the vampires of Earth-Omega.

Vampires are a strain of Cursed. Two hearts beat in their chests; one alive, one dead. The dead heart thirsts, and drives the vampire to drink the blood of the living, and shun the sunlight to survive. Empowered by the evil magic that animates their dark heart, many of them develop strange powers of mind control, shapeshifting, super-strength, super-speed, super-agility, and other, weirder powers.

History Lesson:

The first vampires of the modern world can all be traced back to Father Angelo Lombardia. A Vatican priest charged with keeping watch over dangerous magical artifacts, he worked with fellow priest Giuseppe Martia in Rome during the Renaissance.

Among the many evil artifacts the two carefully catalogued and locked away was an ornate wooden box, covered with alien runes. Angelo and Giuseppe were the best of friends, but it wasn’t to last. The two had much in common. Both were scholars, good-hearted young men, the youngest brothers in their families. Giuseppe’s family was poor, though, and he despaired when he heard that they were thrown into debtors’ prison. He decided to steal the box, sell it, and use the money to free his family. His plan would have worked, except that his best friend caught him stealing the artifact.

The two fought, and the box opened during the struggle. Inside was a desiccated human heart, shriveled and covered with dust. A drop of Angelo’s blood fell on the heart, and it grew tendrils, and crawled along his body. The heart ripped his chest open, and implanted itself in his chest, next to his living heart. In agony, Angelo awoke the next night to find that he’d become a new creature, something only half-living, a monster.

Worse, the curse was contagious. His blood-thirst finally overwhelmed him, and the first time he drank a victim dry, they rose again as undead abominations like himself. A second, dead heart grew in their chest, like Angelo’s own dead heart. The second vampire lacked Angelo’s moral strength, and passed on the curse several times before Angelo found him and discovered how to slay him.

Meanwhile, Giuseppe stumbled, wounded, to the mysterious stranger who’d wanted the box. The cloaked stranger revealed himself to be the ancient, evil entity Ravlok the Chaos-Bringer, and he made Giuseppe his oracle of evil, the Paradox Prophet.

Giuseppe became a leader in the Cult of the Universal Presence. Not long after, Angelo met the sorceror Giorgio De Vari, and joined the secret order that would become known as the Order of the Shadow Vigil. The two best friends have been locked in a centuries-long secret struggle for the future of humanity. Vampires have served on both sides of this unholy war, stalking the night and slaking their thirst on mortals.

Vampire Statistics:

Stats on young Vampires can be found in the Invulnerable Tabletop Super Hero Roleplaying Game. Elder vampires are far more deadly.> Typical Elder Vampires, Cursed Villains

Some vampires are only a few years old, prowling nightclubs and back alleys, thinking only about their next meal. Older vampires build a following of lesser vampires to serve them, and they have the foresight to build safe lairs for their daytime slumber. Not only are they stronger and better at mind-reading, they can also fly, control the weather, and shapechange into animals.

Central Contradiction: Elder vampires have been shaped for centuries by an unrelenting hunger that drives them to desperation. One heart beats warm, living blood through their body, but another cold, dead, shriveled heart pumps nothing but rotting lymph and tomb dust. Their bodies are waxy pale like a corpse, but when they feed or use their powers, they flush with blood, with temporary, ill-gotten life. Younger, lesser vampires belie their vampiric majesty with their pathetic desperation; elder vampires are much more clearly an alien mockery of life itself.

Story Use/Notes: Elder Vampires typically lead a small coven of lesser vampires. The coven is something like a twisted sex cult, and something like a surrogate, co-dependent family. With their vast powers, organized vampires are a massive threat to the world, a terror that challenges even the toughest and bravest of heroes.

P.S. Special thanks to my lovely wife Kevin-Lynn Kubli for brainstorming about the origin of vampires in Earth-Omega, and the background of Angelo Lombardia.